Flagstaff structure



` Nov. 7, 1944. A. B. GARDELLA FLAGSTAFF STRUCTURE Filed Dec. 18, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 lNvENToR ALBERT B. GARDELLA N0V- 7, 1944- A. B. SARDI-:LLA

FLAGSTAFF STRUCTURE 2 Sheets-Sheet Filed Dec. 18. 1941 Fla-e Patented Nov. 7, 1944 A 4 FLAGSTAFF STRUCTURE i Y Albertl B Gardella, ClevelandyiOhio ..1 Application' December 18,1941, serial No. 423.4164

t sclaiins. l (c1. 248-226)r This invention relates to'iiag staff structures and more particularly, to nag staff structures of the type having clamping means `at theirlower ends to enable them to be detachably connectedl to the lbumpers of automobiles and the like with the flag staffs'in substantially upright positions.

The present invention has for its general obl ject the provision of a flag staff structure of the aforesaid type .which'is'of simple and inexpensiveC form, of strong and sturdycharacter, and which z may be easily, quickly and conveniently attached to and detached from `'an automobile `bumperor the like.v

Amore'specic object ofv the' present inven-l tion is the provision of a flag staff structure of the aforesaid type'whichhas improved clamping means for enabling it to be detachably connected to an automobile bumper, saidlclamping means being of such' character that vit is" 'adapted for use with-the bumpers of all automobiles, including the front bumpers of those automobiles which are provided with sheet'metal shields or aprons closely adjacent such bumpers. I

' A still more specic object of the present invention is the 'provision of a iiag staff structurev of the aforesaid type"in-"which the clamping` means thereof comprises two oppositely extending upper clamping 4jaws anda'lo'wer clamping jaw adapted vto' `beswung to cooperative position beneath either'of'th'e two upper clamping jaws, depending upon thev body'and/or bumper constructionfof'the automobile with whichthe ag staff structure istobeused. Further objects ofthe present `invention'ajre in part obvious and in partwill appear from the following descriptionof an embodiment thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in whichz Fig. 1 is a side elevationl of a flag staif structure embodyingone formof the present inven-` tion, the-flag stafr` structure being detachably connected to the front bumper lof-an' automobile, with the ag staff in' upright position'.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the lower end portion of said flagstaf structure as detachably connected tothe front bumper ofan automobile having ashield or apron adjacent said bumper;

Fig. 3 is a rear view,` onan enlarged scale, of

said lower end portion of said flag staff structure, the clamping, jaws ythereof being in the relationship shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. yl is a detail vertical sectional View of said lower end portion yof said flag lstaff structure, the view being on the lined-4, Fig. l; .A i

Figs. 5 and 6 are detail cross-sectional viewsof said lower `end portion'of saidiiag staff structura-the views being on the lines 5 5 and 6 6, Fig. 3, respectively; f i

` Fig. '7 is a detail Vertical sectional view of .an intermediate portion of said flag `staff structure;

Fig. 8 is a side elevation of the somewhat modied upper end portion of aflag staff structure..

Before the present invention-is'described in detail, it is to be understoodfthat such invention is not limited tothe details of construction and/or the specific arrangementiof parts hereinillustrated'or described,'.as the invention obviously may take other forms. It also isr vto be understoodthat the phraseology or terminology. herein employed yis for the purpose of description and not of limitation,.the scope of the present in- Referring first to Figsg'l to'7 inclusive,it'wi1l vention being indicated by the appended'claims.

benoted thatthe' flag staff structure there rillustrated comprisesa flag staff and clamping means at the base of said staff for detachably. connecting said staff in generally up-rightl position.l to

an automobile bumper, suchas afront automobile bumper I 0,' Fig. 1, or a front automobile bumper II,Fig.2.y l The flag staff here shown comprisesan upper section inthe form of'a -metal rod I2 and a rlower section in the form/of a metaltube I3, the

diameter of said tube being somewhat larger than that of said rod. Forl the connection of theadjacentL ends of said sections, the lower end of the rod I2 is here provided with a bushing I4`of l such size s to fit within the upperend of the e ybeing welded orv otherwise thereto.,

tube I3, -and'extending transversely through `said rod, bushing and tube is a rivet I5 or the like. j

The referenceV numeral i I 'I 'in' "Figl 1' designates a nag, bannergor the like, such asa fabric funeral iiag, the hemmed edge I 8 `ofsaid nag being adapted to be sleeved over the upper end portion of the rod I2 in a manner which will be readily understood. To releasably maintain said flag-in proper position on said rod', al spring clamping finger I9 is suitably mounted on the upper v'end portion of said rod, and by slipping the upper end portion of the hemmed edge of the ag beneath said yspring ngensaid agisreIeaSably'but firmly retained in placev on Said rod.' As here shown, the upper end of theV rod I2l is finished off by making it of gooseneck form, the upper end portion of the springi'lnger` I9 beingyshaped to conform to theinterior of said gooseneck .and suitably' attached The bumper'clamping means at'the base of the nag staff just described comprises two oppositely extending upper clamping jaws and a single lower clamping jaw, said lower clamping jaw being adapted to be swung beneath either of the two upper clamping jaws for clamping cooperation therewith, as will hereinafter more fully appear. As here shown, the two upper clamping jaws are formed from a single piece of wire, the middle portion of said wire being bent into a U- shaped loop to form the jaw 20 and the two end portions of said wire forming the oppositely extending jaw 2l. The two intermediate portions 22 of said wire (see Fig. 4), between the jaws 2li and 2I thereof, extend through and are anchored in the perforated ears 23 of a mountingrnember` 24, the central portion 25 thereof being recessed or socketed to receive the lower-end of the-flag staff tube I3. For the connection of said mounting member 24 to the lower end of tube I3, arivet 2I is here utilized (see Fig. 4), saidrivet extending through the front wall of said 4tube and the front wall of the central portion `of member 24, the rearvwall of such central portion being provided with a suitablevaperture'ZB (Fig. 3) for the insertion of lsaid rivet.

As'bestshown in'fFigs. 1 and`2, the wire side y portions of the upper jaw 2l) are here corrugated to'provideaseries of bumper-receiving recesses,

there being threesuch recesses, designated by the desired and as here shown, .thetwo wireside portions of thejaw* 2I'I` may be connected from beneath and adjacent their inner ends by across -wire 32v welded or otherwise suitably vsecured thereto, the result being .to fprovide. a morer rigid i -and durable jaw, aswellv be readily understood.

i 'Ihe` two wire endportions which' form the op- -fpositelyextending :upper yclamping jaw 2L al- Ithough here free of corrugationsyare connected frombeneath ,byxa-pair, of laterally-spaced cross Vwires .3S-welded -or otherwise'fsuitably secured thereto, said cross wires, ytogether with theA down v-ti1rned-outer` endsjorsaid wire end portions, pro- .fviding thisv jawy 2 Iv with a seriesof yImrnper-receiv- Y ing recesses, the three recesses thus formed beingv designated by the reference numerals 34, 35 and YThe single lowerclamping jaw 38, ywhichimay .be swung beneatheither of the two upper clamping jaws for clamping cooperation therewith; is lf also formed from ett-single piecel of wire, said jaw @being in the form of `a substantially U-shaped loop. Asbest shown in Fig. Alythe vdepending v'end portions39 of saidwire are .pinned,as at 40,

'or otherwise suitablyanchored. in the perforatedearsf4I of Yav mounting member-.42v located on the lower end-of,V agmetal rod43-extending upwardly through'the mounting member24-for Athe upper rclamping-jaws-a'nd into the -metaltube I3 which constitutesthe -lowersection of4 the flag staff.

The mounting member42. fory the lower clamping jaw is rotatablyxnounted on thelower end lofthe rod ..43 andis here held against escape from vsaid rod by a. cotter pin. .which extends through said rodbelow -saidumounting member, va washer .45 beinginterposed, if desiredv and ,as

here shown, between said Amember and said cotter pin. To yieldingly resist turningmovement of `themounting.member .42 relative to the Vrodii Vreference numerals' 28, 29 and'` 30, in theembodi- 3 -ment of the invention'here being described. If i not in use, as in Fig. 3, the upper end of said spring abuts the bottom surface ofthe upper mounting member 24, the lower end of said spring abutting either the top surface of the lower mounting member 42 or, as here shown, a washer 41 which rests upon said top surface of the mounting member 42.

In order to yieldingly resist divergent movement of the upper and lower clamping jaws, and thus enable said jaws to iirmly grip or to be clamped upon an automobile bumper or the like, a relatively long and relatively stiff compression spring 48 is located within the iiag staff tube I3,

,around the rod 43 therein. As best shown in ,Figsfl and '7, the lower end of said spring abuts the base of the tube-receiving recess or socket lof the'upper mounting member 24 and the upper end of said spring abuts the headed upper end Vof the rod 43. In order to prevent turning movementof the rod 43 within the flag staff tube I3 and the mounting member 24 carried thereby, the l headed upper end of said rod vishere provided with ,a lateral projection `50 which extends through a longitudinallydisposed slot 5I insaid tube, said slot beingy provided,v for example, by the use of a tube `of longitudinally split form.

vLike those of'theupperA clamping jaw 2t), the wire side portions ofrthe'lower-.clampingjaw 38 are of corrugated form, and are'here shown as being connectedl'from aboveby-a .pair of laterally spaced crosszwiresr52 .welded vor otherwise suitablysecured' thereto. "Asia'result, said lower clamping jaw y"also is .provided V:with at series -of three bumper-receiving recesses, which.are here 35 "designated V-by the Areference numerals 54, 55

and 56. Y

'The provision of: a Vpair ofroppositelyfextending upper'clamping jaws and :a lsingle lower clamping jaw'for clamping cooperation withfeither Yof said upper jaws, :and moreaparticularlythe provision of upper andlower clamping 'l jawsfof the characterhere disclosed, enables thepresent vflag staif structure to beeasily, 'quickly' and conveniently clampedato the front bumper-'of any .automobile,.including:the front bumpersof those i5-automobiles which are providedfwith sheet'rnetal vshields or aprons closely'adjacent such bumpers.

In Fig. l, the flagstaf structure is detachably connected to ,a'front automobile .bumper `Illby 4the use of the upperclampingmember 20 and the lower clamping member^-38, the upper edge of said bumper lying. in ,thefrecess '28 ofthe upper Vclamping jaw, against the crossWireJ32-thereof, and the lower edge' ofV said-.bumper ylyingin the Ymiddle recess -55 of the lower vrclamping jaw, against theV outer'oneoffthe two rcross wires-52 thereof. The upper lclampingfjaw 2 I ,"now idle,

extends. forwardly, as shcwn'inFig. l.

In Fig. 2, the flag staff structure is detachably vconnected to the'front'- bumper II of an autoymobile provided adjacent said :bumper with a shield or apron 58,'and'for the connection of said liiag staff structure to such Aa bumper, the shorter of the two upper clamping jaws, namely, jaw 2 I, is used in conjunction with'the lower clamping -jaw. As shown, the upper-edgeof the bumper I I lies in the'outer recess 36 of the upper clamping jaw, against the" hook-shaped-outerend thereof, the lower edge of said bumper lying in the middle recess of 'the lower clamping jaw, against the outer cross wire 52, as in Fig. 1.

Thus, by using one-or the other `of the upper clamping jaws with the' lower clamping jaw, and lby usingthe proper, recesses'of thetwo jaws thus c selected, the., present flag staff structure may be rmly though detachably clamped to the front bumper of any automobile, with the ag stai in an upright position, all as will be readily understood.

With reference to Fig. 8, it will be noted that the spring linger I9a, for releasably holding in place the flag or banner Ila, is secured to the upper end of the flag staff rod l2a by a finishing knob 60, here telescopically mounted upon said rod and frictionally or otherwise removably retained thereon.

Further features and advantages of the present invention will be readily apparent'to those skilled in the art to which it relates.

What I claim is:

1. Clamping means for a flag staff structure or the like, comprising a tubular member for the support of the ag staff structure or the like, an upper carrier element having a socket in which the lower end of said tubular member is rigidly mounted, two upper oppositely extending clamping jaws rigidly carried by said upper carrier element at diierent levels, a rod-like member slidably mounted in said tubular member and having a portion projecting therebelow, a coiled compression springv located within said tubular member, the upper end of said spring engaging a fixed abutment of said rod-like member and the llower end of said spring being seated in the socket of said upper carrier element, a lower carrier element rotatably mounted on the projecting portion of said rod-like member, a lower clamping jaw rigidly carried by said lower carrier element, the rotatable mounting of said lower carrier element enabling the lower clamping jaw carried thereby to be located beneath either of said upper clamping jaws for clamping cooperation therewith, the compression of said spring when said lower clamping jaw is moved below a predetermined level with respect to the upper clamping jaw in alignment therewith enabling the two aligned j aws to be firmly and releasably clamped to an automobile bumper or other object.

2. Clamping means for a flag staff structure or the like, comprising a tubular member for the support of the flag stai structure or the like, an upper carrier element rigidly secured to said tubular member, two diiering and oppositely extending upper clamping jaws rigidly carried by said upper carrier element, a rod-like member slidably mounted in said tubular member and having a portion projecting therebelow, a coiled compression spring arranged within said tubular member, the upper end of said spring engaging a fixed abutment of said rod-like member and the lower end of said spring engaging an abutment xed with respect to said tubular member, a lower carrier element rotatably mounted on the projecting portion of said rod-like member, a lower clamping jaw rigidly carried by said lower carrier element, the rotatable mounting of said lower carrier element enabling the lower clamping jaw carried thereby to be located beneath either of said upper clamping jaws for clamping cooperation therewith, said compression spring being under compression onlywhen said lower clamping jaw isv below a predetermined level with respect to the lupperlamping jaw in alignment therewith, and a coiled .compression spring carried by the projecting portion of said rod-like member between said upper and lower carrier elements, said last mentioned compression spring being engaged and being put under compression by said upper and lower carrier elements when said lower rclamping jaw is at or above the aforesaid predetermined level, whereby rotary movement of said lower carrier element and the lower clamping jaw carried thereby relative tothe rodlike member is yieldingly resistant by said second mentioned compression spring when the present clamping means is not in use. A

3. Clamping means for a ag stair structure or the like, comprising a tubular member for the support of the flag staff structure or the like, an upper carrier element having a socket Within which is rigidly secured the lower end of said tubular member and also having oppositely disposed laterally extending ears, two upper clamping jaws each rigidly carried by the ears of said upper carrier element, one jawl extending forwardly and the other rearwardly and said jaws being disposed at differing levels and being of differing lengths, a rod-like member slidably mounted in said tubular member and having a portion projecting therebelow, a lower carrier element rotatably mounted on the projecting portion of said rod-like member and' having oppositely disposed laterally extending ears, a lowerv clamping jaw rigidly carried by the ears of said lower carrier element, the rotatable mounting of said lower carrier element enabling the lower clamping jaw carried thereby to be located beneath either of said upper clamping jaws for clamping cooperation therewith, and spring means for yieldingly resisting movement of said lower clamping jaw below a predetermined level with respect to the upper clamping jaw in alignment therewith, whereby said ktwo aligned clamp-- ing jaws may be releasably clamped to an automobile bumper or other object. ALBERT B. GARDELLA. 

